Andrea Rodriguez
Ms. Tompkins
WLH 1
March 13, 2015
Teenage Dream: Africa’s Youth and the Job Hunt
A license. A car. A job. These are the desires of a sixteen year-old teenager in the US. It’s easy to acquire these things, however, it is not so for other countries, mainly jobs. For example, in Africa, the youth struggle greatly to find a job. In South Africa, almost half of the unemployed population is made up of young citizens (SABC), earning a position as one of the highest rates in the world (IndexMundi). This affects the economy, families, and society, but what are the causes of youth unemployment in Africa?
Education is one major factor for this issue. According to The Guardian news, “Levels of education in Africa are comparatively low creating a considerable skills gap among youth at working age” (Amare). Many young African citizens are not able to get a job because they are not eligible for it, meaning that they do not have the required education to meet the standards of the job. The majority, 50%, of the youth population is illiterate (AEO), and this is a significant skill needed to be obtained for any job in any part of the world. Without a basic education, a young individual is not able to get a job as easily as one who has the experience and networks.
A second factor is that the programs designed to reach out to aid youth unemployment are uncoordinated. An article by Brookings on Sub-Saharan Africa youth unemployment states that in Nigeria, “[The policies] are administered by a multitude of government agencies and actors that are often unaware of each other’s work” (Routman and McArthur). Despite the fact that there are programs out there to help the cause, the workers in the program are not adequately meeting the needs of their own program in order for the youth to tackle their issue. Consequently, the young citizens are not getting much out through these programs.
While there are more causes to this problem, the results are also many. Without a strong generation of youth employees, can Africa move forward as well?
Bibliography
Amare, Tighisiti. "Africa's High Youth Unemployment." Theguardian.com. The Guardian, 11 July 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development-professionals-network%2F2014%2Fjul%2F11%2Fafrica-youth-unemployment-population-growth>.
"Country Comparison Unemployment, Youth Ages 15-24." Unemployment, Youth Ages 15-24. Index Mundi, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. <http://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=2229>.
Oosthuizen, Morné, and Aalia Cassim. "The State of Youth Unemployment in South Africa." The Brookings Institution. Brookings, 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2014/08/15-youth-unemployment-south-africa-oosthuizen>.
SABC. "Youth Unemployment Soars: Stats SA." Http://www.sabc.co.za/news. SABC, 5 June 201. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sabc.co.za%2Fnews%2Fa%2F64e44a004442321b82c88651e2c8725a%2FYouth-unemployment-soars%3A-Stats-SA-20140506>.
Brandon Routman, and John McArthur. "Youth Unemployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Varying Solutions to Complex Challenges." The Brookings Institution. Brookings, 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2014/08/12-youth-unemployment-africa-mcarthur>.
I really liked this topic because it could be seen as a "petty" topic and not one that people would immediately think of, but it really is an important one to resolve. This reminds me of my life because I can't imagine how large of a problem it would be and how are hard it would be for me if I was not offered the opportunities that I have the luck of being offered.
ReplyDeleteI like how you connected Africa's lack of education to their large unemployment population, and it really "rounded out" your argument. :) I think the fact that you added how teenagers in the US are more fortunate than those in Africa made me think of how difficult the job market is here, it can only be worse in Africa. What made the programs inadequate for the students in them?
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